SMEs happy with government

And businesses related to primary industries are third highest in 'total' satisfaction at 34% - topped by finance and insurance at 48% and business professional and property at 38%. However primary related SMEs with total dissatisfaction was 20%.

Overall the March MYOB Business Monitor shows a marked increase in the level of satisfaction with Government support amongst  all SME business operators. A third (33%) are happy with National's backing of the sector and less than a quarter (24%) dissatisfied. This is a significant turnaround from the August 2013 Monitor, when dissatisfaction outweighed satisfaction (24% versus 28%).

MYOB general manager accounting division Adam Ferguson says more local businesses are no doubt feeling comfortable with how well the Government is working for business, given the recent strong performance of the SME economy.

"Small and medium businesses are doing well across the board in this latest MYOB Business Monitor survey, with three in four seeing increased or steady revenue over the past year," he says.

"And just as their performance expectations are positive, they are very confident about how well the broader economy will perform over the coming months. Half of all SME operators expect to see New Zealand's economy improve further within 12 months – the highest level of short-term confidence we have seen in the last five years.

"However, as we have discovered from the policy preferences of this business community, there is still a considerable amount of work to be done in making it easier to do business in New Zealand.

"Further work on reducing complexity in business reporting has to be a focus of any party looking to secure the SME vote this election."